Originally Posted by
Annandaler
Not sure what you mean by "... as if the line were designed for novice travelers." The DULLES CHECKPOINT is now intended to speed the security check on special-needs passengers (primarily wheel-chair parties) and designated groups (often "Honor Flight" groups of World War II veterans. Those folks get sent directly to the Document Check podium.
Anyone else who has a need to go through TSA security is entitled to use the serpentine queue - there is no other requirement to use this checkpoint, and you will find travelers in the queue with widely different levels of TSA expertise.
I understand that there is no requirement for expertise to use the line. But the TSO's announcements seemed designed for extremely inexperienced travelers, and were even more basic than the announcements you would hear or see at the normal checkpoint.